Plane carrying Malawi VP vanishes a month after his corruption charges dropped
In a decision of either empathy or 'chickening out' of the skies, Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera had to abort his trip to the luxurious Carribean archipelago of Bahamas.
By founding news editor Nigel Tawanda Pfunde
Lilongwe- THE Vice President of Malawi Saulos Klaus is reported to be missing after the military aircraft carrying him went off radar Monday morning,Express Mail Zim has heard.
About a month ago, Klaus was cleared of fraud charges by courts in the East African country. This followed accusations that he had received money to influence the awarding of contracts to Xaviar Ltd and Malachitte FZE, two companies linked to British businessman Zuneth Sattar.
The reported disappearance of the plane carrying the Malawian second in command fueled widespread speculation over what had happened to him.
“His (Chilema) ‘s dissapearance gives rise to specuation of foul play due to its timing, just one month after being cleared of corruption charges,” said a Zimbabwean journalist of Malawian origin who preffered anonymity.
In a statement released by the Malawi Office of the President and Cabinet authored by Colleen Chamba, the bird that Chilima was aboard failed to land at Mzuzu International Airport as scheduled due to bad weather.
The plane had gobe off radar a sgoet while later. Other reports from Malawi suggested the aeroplane had crashed in a large forezt area although there has been no confirmation.
“The general public is alerted that the Malawi Defense Force Aircraft that left Lilongwe today, Monday 10th June 2024 at 09:17 Hours, carrying the Vice President, the Right Honourable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, and nine others, failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport at 10:02,” wrote Zamba.
He said all efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar had failed thus far.
In a decision of either empathy or ‘chickening out’, Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera had to abort his trip to the luxurious Carribean archipelago of Bahamas for yet to be established reasons for visit.
Bahamas is however popular for being a romantic getaway and ‘chill place’ for the rich and famous where bikini clad women are staple!
“The Commander of the Malawi Defense Force, General Valentino Phiri, has since informed His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of the incident and the President has since canceled his scheduled departure for the Bahamas and ordered all regional and national agencies to conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft,”said Zamba in the statement.
The incident comes hot on the heels of the death pf Iranian president Ebrahim2 Raisi who died in a chopper crash on last month on May 19, along with his Foreign Affairs minister Hossein Amirabdollahiana.
Klaus’ earlier brushes with the law in Malawi mirrors developments in Zimbabwe where certain individuals and tenderprenuers are allegedly awarded government contracts in a well choreographed oligarchy.
This however has been mere speculation and the country’s Judicial Services Commision had not had a single high profile fraud conviction save for former minister Samuel Undenge whose ‘street cred’ was questionable.
His conviction was further given impetus by his wife’s equally alleged corrupt tendencies when she failed to pay out a pundit who won at her now defunct betting company which crumbled like a ‘house of cards’.
